2017 Bevan Cellars Ontogeny Red Wine Oakville Napa Valley 750 ml

In the short time since the 2017 Bevan Cellars Ontogeny Red Oakville Napa Valley sold out (and nearly set our servers aflame), it’s racked up a 4.46 rating on Wine Access, along with a bunch of breathless praise: “Divine! I adored this wine,” said one member, while another called it a “stunning wine, one of my favorites ever!” 

Touting the quick 50-case sellout, we reached out to Bevan Cellars, and we’re happy to say that we’ve scored more of this 96-99-point instant classic—although not much. So if you drank your first shipment way too quickly or missed out altogether, move fast on this one!

Multi-100 point winemaker Russell Bevan is known for his single-vineyard Cabernets, but Ontogeny may outshine them all, despite costing half as much. Jeb Dunnuck said the Ontogeny might be his favorite in Bevan’s 2017 lineup, calling it a “sexy, straight-up heavenly wine from Russell Bevan that's guaranteed to put a smile on your face.” 

Pouring so dark that it practically sucks you into the glass, a large Bordeaux stem can’t contain this red's dense aromatic array of blueberries, blackberries, blackcurrant, mocha, crème de cassis, vanilla, sweet spice, and licorice. It’s opulent and broad-shouldered on the palate, with a plush sweetness to the tannins complementing the rich black and blue fruit, Turkish delight, and olive tapenade notes, with a beautiful density and weight lingering on the palate. 

A decade ago, Robert Parker wrote “I can’t recommend this up-and-coming producer’s wines highly enough.” Five years after that, he said “I continue to be blown away by the wines from Russell Bevan.” Now, Bevan’s got seven 100-pointers from Wine Advocate, another couple from Jeb Dunnuck, and his wines keep getting better and better. 

That praise has made Bevan one of the most recognizable and irrepressible figures in Napa Valley. Towering, barrel-chested, and unfiltered, Bevan’s a Sonoma County native whose work brought him away from wine country, physically at least, when he was working in the Midwest. At that time, he and his partner were spending more on wine than their mortgage, insurance, groceries, and every other living expense. Probably not a wise move, had Russell’s goal been to ease toward a far-off retirement. But when he headed back out West to fulfill his winemaking dream, the palate he’d refined over the years was his most valuable asset.

2017 was a vintage of intense heat in Napa, something Bevan and his growers managed meticulously. They cut back canopies early, which primed the grapes for the hot summer. They employed shade cloths and misters to keep the grapes cool. The result is a wine that’s not just bold and concentrated, but balanced. 

Russell Bevan doesn’t do anything less than 100%: He selects the barrels for the Ontogeny blend from his favorite vineyards—sites like Tench, Sugarloaf, Wildfoote, and Sentinel Ridge—and ages Ontogeny in 100% new French oak: Darnajou, Taransaud, and other top-notch cooperage, naturally. The result is a wine that’s fantastic out of the gate, and stands alongside Bevan’s single-vineyard offerings for about half the price. 

For a buy-now, drink-now, life-is-short red from one of Napa Valley’s most high-profile and successful winemakers, you can’t top this.